brycewang-stanford/compile-latex

Compile LaTeX

Overview

This skill compiles LaTeX documents correctly with the right engine and bibliography system, handles multi-pass compilation, and parses errors to suggest fixes. It ships with a wrapper script (scripts/compile.sh) that detects everything automatically and can be invoked directly.

When to Use

• Compiling any .tex file
• "The paper won't compile"
• LaTeX error messages appearing in output
• Generating the final PDF for submission
• CI or automated builds of a paper
• Verifying that cross-references and citations resolve correctly

Mandatory Steps

1. Detect the engine from the preamble. Look for \usepackage{fontspec}. If present, use xelatex. Otherwise use pdflatex. The wrapper script does this automatically.

2. Detect the bibliography system. \usepackage{biblatex} in the preamble implies biber. \bibliography{...} at the end of the document implies bibtex. Neither implies no bibliography pass.

3. Prefer latexmk if available. It handles multi-pass logic automatically and is more robust than running passes manually.

4. If latexmk is unavailable, run the manual sequence: engine → bib (if applicable) → engine → engine.

5. On error, parse the log file (<base>.log). Extract lines starting with !, report the line number and file, and suggest a likely fix from the error table below.

6. Verify the PDF was produced after successful compilation and that it is non-empty.

Using the Wrapper Script

Invoke the compile script directly:

./skills/compile-latex/scripts/compile.sh paper/paper.tex

The script detects engine and bibliography system, runs latexmk if available, falls back to manual multi-pass otherwise, and exits non-zero on failure. All detection and pass logic is handled internally — no flags needed beyond the path to the .tex file.

Common Errors and Fixes

| Error | Cause | Fix | |-------|-------|-----| | Undefined control sequence \foo | Missing package | Add \usepackage{pkg} providing \foo | | File 'x.sty' not found | Missing package | Install TeX package (tlmgr install x) | | Citation 'X' undefined | Bib pass not run | Run biber or bibtex, then re-run engine | | Missing \begin{document} | Preamble typo | Check brace balance in preamble | | Package fontspec Error | Used pdflatex instead of xelatex | Switch engine | | Overfull \hbox | Typographical warning | Usually safe to ignore, or rephrase the offending line | | LaTeX Error: File 'x.tex' not found | Missing \input{} target | Verify path relative to the main file |

Anti-Patterns

• Running pdflatex on a document that needs xelatex
• Ignoring Citation undefined warnings — they mean the bibliography is broken
• Single-pass compilation when cross-references exist (\ref, \cite, \label)
• Committing .aux, .log, .bbl, .out, .toc, .fls, .fdb_latexmk auxiliary files to git
• Ignoring errors and just "running it again" until it compiles

Verification Before Completion

• [ ] Engine detected matches preamble requirements
• [ ] Bibliography system correctly identified
• [ ] Multi-pass executed when needed (engine → bib → engine → engine)
• [ ] Exit code 0 from the compile step
• [ ] <base>.pdf exists and is non-empty
• [ ] No Undefined warnings in the final log
• [ ] Auxiliary files not staged in git